Expectations have been high leading up to the draft that the Patriots might finally add one of the top quarterback prospects on offense, with the only question seemingly being whether or not the team might trade out of #3 in favor of a deal from a desperate team.
In the end, no such deal materialized, and New England ended up selecting North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye with the third overall selection on Thursday night.
De-facto GM Eliot Wolf admitted that conversations from teams about a possible trade did take place, but in the end, it wasn’t enough to move the needle and he said they were happy to have their new signal-caller.
“We had some conversations with other teams, but ultimately we felt like Drake was the player that we wanted and we had the opportunity to get him,” said Wolf.
Wolf added that the trade offers started, ‘a long time ago’ but they felt it was a unique opportunity they couldn’t pass up.
“The trade offers, I won’t say they were constant, but there were different points throughout the process where there were trades,” said Wolf. “But all along, we knew we were in a unique opportunity to get a quarterback that we liked, and we were obviously able to do that.”
Maye is a guy who is certainly somewhat of a project, as it’s been pretty well documented that he’s got some issues to work out from a fundamental standpoint. However, at 6’4”, 223 pounds, he’s certainly got the physical traits you look for, along with the athleticism and strength that certainly check all the important boxes.
Former Patriots head coach Bill Belichick acknowledged that Maye is a project during his appearance on the Pat McAfee show Thursday night,
“Drake Maye, his footwork needs a lot of work,” said Belichick at one point analyzing footage of one play from Maye’s college days. “You can see here, he’s just all over the place, never resets his feet, never really gets into position to throw, gets strip-sacked.”
Wolf addressed Maye’s weaknesses, saying that he felt comfortable enough with the coaching staff that they’ll be able to help the rookie work through his issues and hopefully overcome them.
“Meeting with Coach Van Pelt, Coach McAdoo, Coach McCartney, and just kind of talking through some of the development he needed, some of the things that they thought they could tighten up or fix in some cases,” said Wolf. “At the end of the day, we felt comfortable with those things and really betting on the talent and the kid. Drake’s a relentless worker from all the indications that we have, and he’s going to be able to overcome some of the things in the areas that he needs to improve.”
Jerod Mayo also said that as of now, Maye absolutely has a lot of work ahead of him, adding that the rookie’s work ethic is something that he believes gives him a good chance to go out there and play at a high level.
“We’re not sitting here saying that Drake is our starting quarterback,” said Mayo. “I think he understands that. He understands the things that he has to get better at, and with coaching and once again, the hard work, and the coaches that we have, the support system from ownership.”
“I think he has a chance to go out there and really play at a high level. You can talk about potential all you want to, until you reach it, it really doesn’t matter. But we do know the man. We know the man is a hard worker, and he’s going to do everything he can to be successful.”
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Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.
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